Railway



(No Model.)

G. E. BALDWIN.

RAILWAY. No. 329,429. Patented NOX/13, 1885.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. BALDWIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 329,429, dated November3, 1885.

Application filed October 21, 1884. Serial No. 146,072. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. BALDWIN, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement inRailways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to railways; and it consists in certainimprovements, all of which are fully set forth in the followingspecification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form partthereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a suitable railway especiallyadapted to city purposes, which shall allow of the longitudinalstringers of wood being dispensed with. The objection to the woodenstringers lies in the fact that after being in the ground for a lengthof time the action of the air and moisture rots them near the uppersurface, and requires their replacement at a large expense. The aim inview with my invention is, there! fore, to so construct the rails andtheir supporting-chairs that no stringers are required, thus simplifyingthe construction and greatly improving the durability of therailway-bed, and which in the long run makes a railway of thisconstruction much cheaper.

In the drawings Figure l is a cross-section of one of the rails, andshowing the chair in elevation. Fig. 2is a cross-section of astreetrailway bed embodying my improvements, and Fig. 3 is alongitudinal elevation of a portion of the rail as supported upon two ofthe chairs.

A are the rails, and I the chairs. These rails consist of the upper ortreading part, B, and lower or base part, C, the upper surface of whichis arranged about three-quarters of an inch below the upper face of partB, and I prefer to make a shallow longitudinal groove, D, at the inneredge of base part C, in which the flange of the wheel may run as thetreading-faceB wears down. rIhese two partsB and C have their bottomsalso arranged on different levels, preferably about three-quarters of aninch, or equal to the thickness of the base C, and at or about the placeof their line of junction the metal is rolled downward to form alongitudinal web or rib, E, which is united to the bottoms of parts B Cby curved faces F, and these ribs are of sufficient depth (about One andthree-quarters inch) to give strength to sustain the load between thechairs, which are set about four feet apart. 'Ihe T-rail so formed issupported upon metal chairs I, having their upper parts curved toconform to the bottom of the said rail, in which its parts G and IIreceive the parts B and C of the rail, and the depression J to receivethe rib or web E. The rail is then secured to said chairs by countersunkbolts L, which pass through the base C of the rail and part H of thechair, and are made fast by a round nut, M, between which and the chaira locking- Washer, N, may be placed. The nut M is made round, as thespace in which it is placed is narrow, and it would be difficult and aslow operation to turn a square or hexagonal nut, whereas a round nutmay be turned readily with a pair of pipe-tongs, or their equivalentespecially made for the purpose. These chairs are preferably formed of asteel plate stamped up into the requisite shape, and have their feetturned out, as at I', and through which spikes or screws are passed tofasten the said chairs to the blocks of wood P; or, if desired, thesemay be made of metal plates. The chairs, arranged in line and sup-:porting opposite rails, are united by tierods Q, screw-threaded ontheir ends, which ends pass through holes IL in the inner legs of theshoes, and to Which they are locked by nuts B B, which are preferablyscrewed against adjusting.- washers S. By means of these rods Q the gageof the railway may be adj usted to a nicety.

If desired, the blocks I? may be united to form the well-knowncross-ties; but as they are much more expensive I do not advocate theiruse.

With this construction of railway-bed great durability is attained, and,when necessary, repairs are easily made.

While I prefer the exact construction shown, it may be modified in itsdetails without departing from my invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A rail formed with the upper treading part, B, lower or base part, C,and a longitudinal rib or web projecting downward from the line ofjuncture or thereabout of the said parts B and C, in combination withchairs IOO the purpose specified.

2. A rail formed with the upper treading part, B, lower or base part, C,and a long'r tudinal rib or web projecting downward from the line ofjuncture or thereabout ofthe said parts B and C, in combination withchairs formed of stamped metal and having their upper faces made toreceive the lower face of the rail and its rib, and bolts L, extendingthrough base parts, C, of the rail and face H ofthe chair, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

3. A rail formed with the upper treading part, B, lower or base part, G,and a longi-V tudinal rib or web projecting downward from the line ofjuncture or thereabout ofthe said parts B and C, in combination withchairs formed of stamped metal and having their upper faces made toreceive the lower face of the rail and its. rib, and bolts L, extendingthrough base parts, C, of the rail and face H of the chair and furnishedwith round nuts 25 M, substantially as and for the purpose specilied.

4. The rails and their chairs, in combination with rods Q, nuts R, andadjusting-Washers S, substantially as and for the purpose specified. 3o

5. rIhe combination of rail A, having base part C, treading part B, andrib E, with chairs I, made as shown, and metallic supporting-plates uponwhich said chairs rest, substantially as and for the purpose specified.3 5

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

GEO. E. BALDWIN.

Witnesses:

R. M. HUNTER, ANDREW ZANE, Jr.

